Eminem’s Recovery has been officially named the country’s top-selling album of 2010. The comeback release sold 3.42 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, giving the rapper his second top-seller – The Eminem Show was the biggest hit in 2002.

No other artist has claimed two best-selling years since SoundScan began tracking music sales in 1991.

Recovery is the biggest-selling album-of-a-year since 2007, when Josh Groban’s festive-flavoured Noel shifted 3.70 million copies.

The album hit the top of the charts in July.

Lady Antebellum’s Need You Now is the second biggest seller of the past year with just over three million sales, while Taylor Swift’s Speak Now, the current chart-topper, is third.

Rounding out the top five are Justin Bieber’s My World 2.0 (2.32 million) and Susan Boyle’s The Gift (1.85 million).